


encounters

by bunshima



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, F/M, Gen, Medical Procedures, Needles, Oni!AU, Pregnancy, Violence, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-30 22:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15761058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunshima/pseuds/bunshima
Summary: “Oi, what are you doing?!”, comes the surprised shout, but this time it's someone else. Another woman. A redhead, from what he can tell. She has her back turned to him, blocking the way for Shuten.“Gudako, my dear, you have a stray mutt in your abode.”, Shuten states, winded and clearly reeling from a good amount of adrenaline, “A badly behaved one, too. Allow me to end this.”She attempts to squeeze past the other woman, and he averts his gaze, fully expecting to die right then and there. But it doesn't happen.“No.”, Gudako grunts back at her and Shuten actually lowers her head for a moment, “If he came to me, he probably needs help. These are still neutral grounds– my grounds.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello fgo tag..... its me...... and im back with an au i have with my bestie! i think its p self explanatory for now, but feel free to ask me about the au!
> 
> disclaimer: no proofreading hoho, theres a scene with okada getting stitches and i described it quite a bit so if youre easily freaked out by that i dont recommend reading this, uhhhhhhhh okada is a dumb of ass, tagged this as okaguda BUT its only there if u squint

He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here at all. The area around Ooe territory is known as no-man's-land with little space for oni of other clans–  _ especially males. _ But after months of traveling across the region on foot all while overcoming near lethal wounds, Okada Izo can finally see the light of hope shine down upon him. Rumor has it that a medicine woman–  _ a lone human– _ lives in the mountains, supplying the Ooe clan with remedies for all kinds of inflictions; the perfect opportunity for a badly injured oni with nothing left to lose. 

Okada's chest heaves as he has to crawl up a steep path, the distant shine of lanterns through shoji screens bringing light into the pitch-black night. Almost there. The path reaches a flat plateau much to his relief, allowing him to rush from shadow to shadow and hiding beneath the thick canopy of cherry trees. Only about twenty meters separate him from his supposed safe house. In prospect of safety, Okada finds himself stopping in his tracks, wheezing loudly as he tries to catch his breath. He made it. He's about to venture on, but then– 

“My, my–” A soft and sultry voice right next to his ear, hot breath hitting his cold skin. “–an uninvited guest at this hour?”

Okada reels, a quick hand unsheathing his katana. A great majority of its blade is missing, broken after intense use. This was his main mean of survival for the past few months.

Gentle chuckling halls into the night, slowly fading from earshot. A shadow appears between him and the safe haven, effectively blocking his path. All he can make out in the night is the bright glow of two piercing eyes and sharp tusks bared, glistening with saliva. She's smiling, showing off her imposing fangs. He wishes he could do the same to counter this threat display. 

No doubt about it. This is Shuten Doji herself, guarding her territory from one of countless intruders. 

“What do you intend to do with that piece of scrap?” There's pure mock in her tone as she slowly but surely closes in on his person. 

Okada has no intention of making this a lasting encounter nor does he intent to leave without treatment. He'll die in the wild. His instincts tell him that he would succumb to his wounds likely in the next few days on his own. Fear and desperation him drove him into this situation, but he’ll be damned if he leaves now. He scans her movements for a moment, before his gaze flicks to his surroundings. They're out in the open. The thick flora to his right doesn't allow him to slip through and on the left, there's a steep cliff. The only way is straight ahead. 

An ambush. That's his one option. Fuck, he's desperate enough to try that. 

“You're not talkative at all, are you?”, Shuten observes attentively, her voice still bearing playfulness. For now she still seems more amused and curious than anything. 

He sheathes his broken katana without a word. 

“Ah, you do seem to possess some brains though.”, she says, “Fighting me would be unwise.”

Then, the soft clicking of a lock ahead catches his attention. In the distance, he can see the front screen of the little house open. Shuten has stopped moving, staring him down. The tip of one of her ears twitches, claws splayed at her sides as she hunches ever slightly. She's readying herself, tense as an iron coil. Okada's pupils dilate and his tongue flicks out to wet his dried lips. This is it, the moment of truth. 

At once she dashes, claws slashing forth– 

–into nothing. 

Okada had taken a strong leap. His feet hit her shoulders and he launches himself forward another time, using Shuten to close the distance between him and the house as fast as possible. An enraged howl tells him that she didn't like that at all, further encouraging him to scamper over the front porch with his last bits of energy. Once inside he bolts for the nearest corner, cowering like a cornered animal. Tracks of fresh blood follow his beeline from the front door to his new spot. Barely healed wounds were reopened from the sudden exertion. Okada aches horribly all over. 

“Oi, what are you doing?!”, comes the surprised shout, but this time it's someone else. Another woman. A redhead, from what he can tell. She has her back turned to him, blocking the way for Shuten. 

“Gudako, my dear, you have a stray mutt in your abode.”, Shuten states, winded and clearly reeling from a good amount of adrenaline, “A badly behaved one, too. Allow me to end this.”

She attempts to squeeze past the other woman, and he averts his gaze, fully expecting to die right then and there. But it doesn't happen. 

“No.”, Gudako grunts back at her and Shuten actually lowers her head for a moment, “If he came to me, he probably needs help. These are still neutral grounds– my grounds.”

A loud huff follows. “That they are. You're right, my deepest apologies for overstepping my boundaries.” A short pause for reasons Okada can't tell. “But beware: should he cross the plateau, I shall wait for him there.”

To be fair, Okada doesn’t intend to leave anytime soon. For now, he’s safe, and in spite of that fact, he only curls in on himself further as if hiding from Shuten, doing his best to shield his eyes from any and all light. Weariness doesn’t show mercy with him, crashing down upon his being after several months on the run. But now, his journey seems to have found an end. At least momentarily. Knowing that his livelihood is no longer at immediate stake, Okada can no longer remain conscious, especially not after travelling on foot without sleep for the past four days. He sleeps peacefully–

 

–that is, until a sharp pain in his thigh forces him awake again. A loud hiss breaks from his throat and he wants to lash at whatever is hurting him, but he notices quick (but perhaps not quick enough) that his wrists are bound together and he accidentally hits himself in the face with considerable force. Yeah, that sounds like his kinda luck. He was rolled onto his side. A brief glance tells him that he’s also wearing different clothes; they’re clean and likely new. He also smells of yasmin. Soap. Someone bathed him.

His head reels and he looks into the startled face of that redhead– and gets a hefty dose of sun right into his face. It seems she tied his hair back completely, leaving his sensitive eyes exposed and vulnerable. Wait. _ It’s broad daylight. _ Quickly deciding that it’s way too light out for him to be awake, Okada buries his face in his bound wrists, toes curling at the throbbing pain at his outer thigh.

“Ah, you’ve slept for a long time.”, Gudako– was that her name? He can’t quite remember–  states, “I’m in the middle of patchin’ ya up.” 

She’s wearing blood-stained leather gloves, from what he could tell when he was getting that quick glance before getting his retinas blasted by the sun (he’s nocturnal, clearly). 

“I’m almost done with the stitches, but there’s still two left.” 

He sure doesn’t like the sound of that. _ Had he slept only ten minutes longer he would’ve been spared of this. _

However, Okada doesn’t reply to her, and keeps his face hidden. His teeth already grit in anticipation, the battered skin of his face tensing as he furrows his brows and squeezes his eyes shut. Badly healed marks from months back reopen, but he doesn’t care when he can feel something wet run down the bridge of his nose (at least not right now). Her needle pricks his thigh and he hisses anew, his other leg kicking at what might be hers. Okada knows he shouldn't struggle, but the disinfectant on the needle makes it feel like it’s scalding hot, like it’s burning him, not to mention the feeling of coarse thread passing through the small opening in his flesh. She’s fast in her ways, but that doesn’t numb the pain at all.

“Please hold still.”, she pleads and he can feel her shift onto his calves, pinning his legs down beneath her weight. “I don't wanna hurt you any more than necessary.” She sounds weary, he notices, she's likely been working on him all night. Poor thing; so much altruism leaves no room for sleep. 

Okada appreciates the sentiment but in the end he even starts snarling at her when she continues, both albeit with a heavy heart alike. 

The last prick of the needle has him yowl in pain, his voice completely hoarse, and the first is immediately followed by a second one when she pours alcohol onto the wound. He trembles harshly for a moment. If only he could succumb to this pain– dying would be way easier than lying on the floor, straddled by his savior as she's struggling to keep him in place while tending to his wounds. However, despite that random burst of negativity, there’s relief washing over him when she shifts anew, getting off of him again and moving to undo the bounds at his wrists.

“For god’s sake–” This time there’s actual frustration in her soft voice. “–You’re bleeding  _ again.”  _ Oh yeah. He kinda forgot about the part where he bled all over her floor.

She frees him from the ribbon and when Okada moves to sit up, Gudako immediately rushes to wipe the blood from his face with a wet cloth… and he immediately feels the familiar sting of alcohol on his opened scars. For now, however, he manages to suppress any and all hissing or growling since–  

This is the first time he gets a proper look at her. 

And she’s pretty, even with that solemn look of hers. 

Okada can tell right away what she’s glancing at. The mark he bears on his face. It’s a branding, spanning from his right cheek over the bridge of his nose to above his left brow. It’s an arch-like symbol and part of an ancient, unspoken rule among his kin. Judging by her demeanor, she knows what this means… well, considering she dressed him, she definitely saw his other injuries and it’s not particularly hard to piece the circumstances together. Once the bleeding has been stopped, Gudako undoes his hair for him, letting it fall over most of the scar. Okada lets her do as she pleases. 

For a split moment she seems to ponder on something, then reaches out for him. She doesn’t pose a threat to him (it’s quite the opposite and even Okada, dense as an oni can be, sees that) so he allows her to, although he doesn’t understand her ministrations. Gentle, her fingers weave into the hair near the base of one of his horns (or what’s left of it; it’s been sawed off nearly completely), the pads of her fingers carefully rubbing at his scalp.

Without hesitation he leans into her touch; it feels good and it’s not like he knows better.

A soft sigh follows. “You’ve been through a lot.”, Gudako observes _ (no shit, missy) _ and then chuckles at the next line, “But at least ya don’t bite me like the rest of my customers.”

Okada isn’t even listening to her because she just started scratching him behind the ear and that’s gotta be the best fucking thing he’s ever been subjected to in his life– it’s so good that he can’t prevent his patched up leg from twitching and almost thumping against the wooden floor… which he soon regrets, since the tension from the stitches isn’t to be underestimated. In fact, he can feel multiple spots on his body that ache in the same, awful way. She must've been stitching him back together for hours on end. 

But he can't pay heed to that now, not when she's paying attention to him like this. When she eventually stops, he even stays with his neck craned forth for the next few moments, yearning for (and half expecting) more. Okada’s almost a bit disappointed after she withdrew her hand and grunts at her. Much to his distaste, she imitates him in a mocking manner, but before he even can get pissy, she speaks again.

“So, what can I call ya?”, she inquires, now eyeing him curiously.

His lip twitches upward for a moment. Okada tries to swallow, but the parched inside of his throat instead makes him flinch when it constricts, dry mucosae grating against one another. There’s no way he can speak properly like this. The one thing he can do is stare at her intently, in the hopes that she figures it out on her own. 

But no such luck. Instead she waits for an answer, possibly concluding that he doesn’t understand her.  _ For fuck’s sake. _

“Well–”, she gives a mildly defeated sounding sigh as she gets up and straightens her yukata, “–ah, you don’t gotta tell me. Either way, let’s get ya somethin’ to eat. I bet you’re starving, now that you’re awake.”

God, she has no fucking idea. 

Just the mere mention of food causes his stomach to churn with agonizing pain, strong enough to make him claw at his gut, fangs gritting tight– but Gudako doesn’t see any of this, since she had already gone outside to get something. His brows knit together and he attempts to swallow the lump in his throat. Sweat builds at his temples as Okada can feel himself convulse involuntarily in response to his insides cramping up, followed by more growling. But fortunately, Gudako returns to him shortly, with a full bucket of water and a small basket. Immediately, the strong scent of fish hits him but it's a bit different than what he is used to. Dried fish. Truly a treat for him. 

She sets down both before him and there's no hesitation from Okada's side. His shaking hands begin to scoop up the ice cold spring water and bring it to his mouth. The first drops wet his battered throat and he could've sobbed. Okada can't hold back small tears of joy as he begins to drink with greed, interrupted by soft hiccups. After almost two days without water, his strength slowly returns to him, his body immediately taking in the fluid it was lacking until now. Once having drank a satisfying amount of water, the oni hastily stuffs his face with strips of dried fish filet. Sadly the basket ends up empty a bit too quick for his tastes, but he's also hesitant about asking for more. This human has already done so much for him. He shall wait until she offers more. 

While he had gotten busy with his meal, Gudako had gotten to cleaning up some more and putting away various jugs and wooden boxes. She's quite organized, he notes, just like a skilled medicine woman should be. 

After a while, Okada wipes his mouth with his sleeve and then clears his throat. 

“O–ka–”, he attempts to speak, but his voice breaks. 

"Hm?” She hums in response and glances over to him. She didn't hear him, as focused as she is on her task. 

He had noticed that she looked quite exhausted, but only now he realizes the full consequences of his little stunt. Her hair is unruly, stray strands sticking out from what used to be a neat bun. Dark circles mark her eyes. The ever so slight pang of guilt settles at the pit of his stomach. 

For the sake of her hard labor– for  **_her_ ** sake– he makes another attempt. 

“Oka– da. My name is–” Cue a light cough. ”–Okada.”

A soft smile– one as radiant and warm as the morning sun– graces her features, knowing that her newest patient is already on his way to recovery. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I'm going out today, so I'm trusting ya with watching the house, aight?”
> 
> “Yeah.”, Okada replies sheepishly, ears lowering (that’s a lot of respect for one little growl), “Sure.” 
> 
> In the end, Okada does everything but watch the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoho... if u wanted more after the first chapter i have good news: im likely gonna do more of this au!!! yay!!!!
> 
> disclaimer: no proofreading yall know how it be, okada has a bad day ten times in a row, things happen, snussy

Okada's ear twitches as he is awaken by the sweet song of a nightingale, likely perched in the thick canopy of the peach tree that grows by Gudako's house. Despite only having stayed for two days, the oni has already claimed the front porch with a futon that Gudako generously provided. He's as lazy as an oni can be. Only when the porch's boards creak loudly beneath someone's weight, Okada cracks open a single eye to catch a glimpse.

Of course it's no one other than Gudako, going after her daily tasks.

_Well, let's see for how long._

Albeit a little sluggish, Okada manages to sit up. His body still aches with every move, his stitches stinging and scars itching. But he gets better with every additional hour of rest– and he finally enjoys napping again. It's quite something to sleep under an actual roof after months in the wilderness. Silently, he watches Gudako rush out of her house and back inside again, trying to get her attention without having to ask for it. There's attempts to make eye contact, but all fail… well, except for one.

In a mild fit of exhaustion from doing whatever (huh, almost like Okada doesn't pay attention to things that don't have anything to do with her), the young woman sits down at the steps of the porch and thus beside Okada, who still looks at her with great intent.

A quick glance to the side from Gudako follows. Then, a soft sigh. Without turning to him, her hand extends, running her fingers through his hair and gently ruffling it before she gives him the much anticipated scratches. Okada was never the type for physicalities but perhaps the little medicine woman has unknowingly charmed her way past that coarse exterior of his.

Speaking of coarse, it doesn't take long for the loud, droning purring to set in, ears lowering as Okada seemingly attempts to drown himself in the bit of affection he's given. Oni usually find it more than simply disrespectful to be treated like animals but this particular one has no problem at all with being pet like a dog.

“I already hung out with ya for like twenty minutes earlier, jeez.”, Gudako notes, but still keeps on giving Okada just what he wants, “You're so needy, y'know that?”

“Ya said it yerself: I'm still recovering ‘nd I need the extra attention.”, he says in an attempt to sound smug, but it's quite hard to do so while you're purring like a kitten.

She gives a small huff– and eventually stops. Much to his disdain.

He voices his dislike with a soft whine, to which she ruffles through the mess that is his hair for a last time before she gets up and straightens her hakama. Okada growls, but rather at the lack of affection than at Gudako herself, and– lo and behold– earns himself a little growl back, sharp teeth bared at him. He's actually taken aback quite a bit, looking at her with big eyes, straight into bright amber eyes with slanted pupils.

There’s no way she’s completely human. Of course, he should’ve figured as much. Shuten wouldn’t simply allow some stray to live on her mountain, _not to mention a human–_ Though, he **can’t** say that he didn’t hear rumors of the occasional human woman being taken in by the clan for a night or two, before they allow her to leave. The oni chief is quite proud of her sake, but only willingly shares it with women, oni or not. _Bummer._

“I'm going out today, so I'm trusting ya with watching the house, aight?”

“Yeah.”, Okada replies sheepishly, ears lowering (that’s a lot of respect for one little growl), “Sure.”

  


However–

–in the end, Okada does everything _but_ watch the house. He hasn't gotten the opportunity (more like didn't have the will to get up) to explore his new surroundings yet, so now seems like a good time to do so.

The oni shivers as he wades through the ice cold water of the river that splits the plateau in two parts. Fortunately it's rather shallow, making it easy to cross. The vast green plain is quite the change of scenery, compared to the mostly rocky and infertile parts of the valley that Okada is used to. Curiosity drives him forth, towards the taller grass. His stomach churns. He's hungry. To be honest, the oni can't remember the last time he caught his own prey; his strenuous journey left him with no other choice than eating the carcasses left behind by other clans or animals.

Tall grass soon turns into thick bamboo, as he enters the grove at the edge of the plateau. Gudako had told him to stay away from this particular area at this time of the year– whatever that meant– but he's not a good listener to begin with. He has his trusty katana at his side, so if anyone should ambush him, he will be prepared. Or so he thinks.

As clumsy as Okada may seem normally, when he hunts, he's dead silent and highly concentrated. Barefoot he stalks through the bamboo grove, looking for small prey. Usually he isn't a picky eater, but after feeding rather irregularly, his body just isn't used to a lot of food at once– he learned that the hard way when Gudako presented him with a big meal yesterday which he promptly threw up again.

Dried leaves crunch. Grass rustles.

Okada's head is raised, ears perking up and pupils widening. Right away, his keen eyes spy something of interest: the tail tip of a what might be a large lizard or a snake, sticking out from a patch of tall grass at a clearing. It's only six feet away at most. The oni hunches, so far that might as well stand on his fours. His eyes fixate on the tail and his ears lower, but flick and twitch when more rustling follows.

The familiar hissing of a snake should've made him wary, but it only fuels his hunger. He waits another thirty seconds, but then pounces forward, both claws striking at the tail and pinning it down. The snake seems to reel in response and then– Okada can't believe what he's seeing– he notices vibrant pink eyes that stare him down. For an entire moment he's paralyzed, perhaps by fear. The tail beneath his paws is pulled away so fast that it doesn't register until sharp pain radiates across his face and he falls backwards.

Okada yelps in pain, his hands flying right to his face to cover his sore branding. His head screams at him to move, but he can't. He's downright dazed from that blow to his head, leaving him completely vulnerable. His attacker damn well knows that. Without further hesitation, the sought after tail turns out to be bigger, _so much bigger than expected,_ as it wraps around him tight and presses the air out of lungs agonizingly slow.

While this happens, his senses slowly return to him, forcing him to realize what is happening and what is likely going to happen if he doesn't get away. Okada's claws attempt to tear at the thick scales beneath them, but to no avail. He writhes with all his strength, trying to feel for the hilt of his katana, but it's no use. Thanks to the solid muscle that is holding him down, he's forced to stare at the bright sky shining through between bamboo. Like hell that's gonna be the last thing he sees. His legs kick and he seems to hit her, since he gets a pained huff in return. Then, he can feel himself be lifted by the appendage– which turns out to be more than that.

Okada finds himself staring into the pale visage of a woman around his age, her black hair cascading down the sides of her scaled body. She possesses no scleras; her eyes are solid pink with slanted pupils. Her hands are clawed and her talons long and sharp– and they're moving dangerously close to his face. The being’s heated breath fans over his face, her nostrils flaring as she seems to breathe in his scent. Her head tilts as she looks at him with obvious interest. In a weirdly tender gesture, she moves his hair out of his face and Okada wishes he could move his head away, but the last bit of her tail hinders him from doing so, keeping his neck stiff in its embrace. Her eyes widen.

He knows well what she's looking at. The branding burns horribly under her intense gaze.

“Oryo has never seen you before.” She speaks in a painfully monotone way.

“What can I say– ‘m new here.”, Okada growls at Oryo in response, continuing to struggle even with sore muscles. However, his wiggling earns him a nice tight squeeze, causing his vision to go black for a second. “–L-listen, missy, I didn't wanna step on ya tail. So if ya'd–”

His response leaves her miffed. Well, more than just miffed which Okada will soon realize. “Oryo doesn't like trespassers.”, she cuts him off, frowning deeply.

Her jaw begins to tense and Okada notices something terrible: the sides of her lower jaw seem to move independently from one another, like it is with a normal snake. There's additional pressure on his battered body and it's almost enough to make his stitches pop. After another moment, her maw opens wide– so, so much wider than a normal jaw should– above his head and the poor oni is met with two rows of incredibly sharp teeth and two long fangs. Drool dribbles onto his face.

He's suddenly missing the sky as a last sight.

She seems to be taking her sweet time with this though, considering she's been giving him a view inside her throat for the past few moments. In a fit of desperation, Okada attempts to writhe himself out of her grip. And ever so slightly, her scaled body leaves him room, even if only an inch. That's his opportunity.

His arms are still pressed close to his person, but he manages to grab hold of his katana's sheath. With all his might, Okada pushes it forth between the snake woman's coil, wedging it between her jaws with great effort which leaves his breathing labored and ragged. At the same moment she seems to have made up her mind and wanted to bite down on him, but finds herself unable to. She hisses loudly in surprise and lets go of the oni at once, letting him fall onto the ground. He heaves right away, forcing air into his lungs frantically. Oryo’s hissing doesn't cease and when the oni gathers enough strength to sit up, he sees her twisting and rolling over the tall grass, causing it to flatten beneath her weight. His katana had gotten stuck between her widely opened jaws.

He's dazed and regaining his wits only slowly, but he sees the whip-like tail fly towards him anew, but this time he shields his face with his arms. The (literal) whiplash is deafening and a wide red streak appears across his forearms right away. When his arms lower, Oryo had already managed to free herself of the blockage, having discarded the now drool covered katana to the side. Though, her body keeps writhing in pain and she hisses weakly as her hands shield her jaws from further assault.

This moment would be a good point to stop and part ways, but now Okada’s pissed off. His teeth are bared, his broken off tusks put on display, and spit already dribbles down his chin. He's not only angry but also excited. This is the first proper fight he had in a long time. He doesn't even care about his stitches reopening, even though Gudako will likely scold him yet again.

His claws take firm hold of the last bit of her tail. With terrifying ease, Okada drags her over the ground for a few feet before he can bring up enough strength to fling her away from him, causing her to bring down quite a few stalks of bamboo before she hits the ground. A high pitched and obviously pained shriek follows from Oryo’s side– and she gets an enraged roar in response.

But then, everything happens fast, the situation turning on him again.

The snake woman rushes towards him so fast that she is no more than a blur to him. Long talons find his neck and he can feel his feet lose the solid ground beneath them. Her spindly fingers tighten at his throat, moving dangerously close to cutting his oxygen supply. Legs kick as loud snarling leaves Okada and he attempts to twist in her vice grip. Saliva dribbles over her claws while he continues to fight death’s embrace, maintaining direct eye contact with the beast. Her stare is cold and devoid of any and all emotion– but she seems to get enjoyment from watching him struggle, seeing how her gaze occasionally flicks up and down his person with obvious interest.

His paws claw into her wrists, fingers turning white from the pressure. So, what can he do? That thought isn’t racing through his head as fast as you’d expect, since she still appears to take her time with actually killing him, almost as if hesitating. If she intends to wait for Okada to exhaust himself, he’s gotta disappoint her. One develops some insane stamina if they spend all their life struggling and fighting whatever is thrown their way– _and Okada had a lot thrown his way._

Okada’s feet kick out of reflex when there’s more pressure on his throat, and Oryo winces visibly when he seems to hit a particularly sensitive part of her. He can’t keep himself from grinning at that; seems like he’s finally got a way out of this bullshit. The pain had forced her into lowering just a bit as she appears to cave in on herself. _Perfect._

His heel digs into what might be her lower body and he hits something hard, a bump of some sort. The very moment Okada twists it into her supposed abdomen, Oryo cries out, blood-curdling and high-pitched, before dropping him and slithering away as far as she can (which isn’t far). The oni coughs and retches when air rushes into his lungs a bit too fast. However, it takes a lot to knock him onto his ass once and for all. And so Okada stands anew, reeling from a hefty overdose of adrenaline. His eyes dart to his discarded katana, claws clasping at the spit covered sheath while its counterpart unsheathes the broken blade. Then, the oni’s gaze jumps to the hunched snake woman (she’s more beast than a woman). She has turned away from him, her tail curling around her as she cradles something at her front protectively. Whimpers slip from her while she subtly rocks back and forth in her spot.

Ah, well. He can’t say that he feels sorry for her. _Not after this ordeal._

She reacts to the crunching of leaves behind her, shoulders shaking– but instead of attacking him again, she cowers. **In fear.** It makes him feel so many wonderful things at once. Fangs are laid bare in a bloodlust-induced frenzy, the corners of his mouth pulled upwards in a sneer. Her nape is so vulnerable, the vertebrae showing beneath pale skin. One hand grasps the hilt of his katana as he lifts it above her, his other hand taking hold of a few stray strands of her hair to keep her in place. She only seems to become smaller and smaller beneath his shadow, squeaking when he yanks her hair out of the way roughly. He’s about to strike this vile creature down, but singeing pain strikes his shoulder with incredible might.

An arrow. Laced with poison, judging by the terrible burning sensation going out from the wound.

A strong tingling immediately settles in his shoulder, along with the arm attached to it, and soon enough his entire right side grows numb. Okada drops his katana as he slumps in on himself, unable to support his own weight any longer. Without a proper sense of balance, he ends up dropping on his back again, for the nth time during this encounter. He may have lost sensation in one side of his body, but he’s still acutely aware of the situation, his head clear and perhaps even clearer than it was before. He may not be in a good place right now, but at least the poison doesn’t seem to be lethal (well, at this point). His ears flick at rustling leaves and Oryo’s pitiful whining.

“Ryou… Ryouma.”, she keens, _“He hurt me.”_ –and suddenly Okada feels seething anger return to him.

Then, there’s a deeper voice speaking to her so soft and gently that he can’t understand a word. Oh wow, that snake bitch is real good at getting herself some pity points, ain’t she? Deep down he hopes that whoever is with them now isn’t of the same kin as Oryo. He’s had enough of giant snakes for a lifetime. But knowing his luck, the new one’s twice her size. More of her desperate keening follows and Okada can’t keep his anger to himself any longer.

“She tried– ta– _she tried ta–”,_ he snarls through gritted teeth as he tries to stay as coherent as possible, since the numbness is creeping up on his face now, **“She tried ta eat me.”**

 _“Ryo.”,_ the deeper voice sighs, which Okada assumes belongs to this Ryouma guy. It took his hazed brain a while to piece the circumstances together, as obvious as they may be.

“I know. _I know._ Oryo promised not to eat oni.”, she whimpers in response, “But I’m so hungry all the time.”

A short moment of silence follows and a scrawny figure appears in Okada’s limited field of view. He can’t turn his head properly, but he can see those dark brown eyes that bore holes into his person. So **that’s** Ryouma. _Boy, if looks could kill._

However, Okada can’t help but notice how unusually graceful he seems for an oni. He’s clad in white, his black hair building a strong contrast to his clothing. A pale, nubby horn sticks out between his bangs, stemming from his forehead. His hunting yumi is still at his side and the floored oni can feel his fist tremble around it. He sure does seem like he’d like to strike Okada down with another poisoned arrow. Ryouma moves to his side, crouching down before setting his bow aside. Without much hesitation, he brushes away Okada’s messy bang, to which the oni growls anew.

_That’s a lot of unwanted face touching for one day._

“Were you aware that he’s one of us?”, Ryouma looks over his shoulder to speak to Oryo, who finally seems to have calmed down, “I told you to check, didn’t I?”

“I did, but this one... This one was mean to Oryo.”

“I thought your mood swings had gotten better, Ryo.”, he sighs while carefully sitting up Okada with trained movements. Seems like he’s done this before.

“They did though!”, she exclaims, and now he can see her exasperated demeanor, “Oryo would’ve really eaten him before!”

 _“Ah, goodness.”,_ Ryouma mutters under his breath as he pulls the arrow from his victim’s shoulder before flinging it aside. Okada doesn't even flinch; he can't even feel his shoulder anymore. Then, Ryouma swings the stunned oni over his shoulder like he’s dealing with an inanimate sack of rice. “We’re taking him back to Gudako’s. Knowing her, she must be worried sick about him already.”

All the spit that collected in Okada’s mouth while all this transpired spills over his bottom lip when his head hangs low, immediately getting a loud expression of pure and utter disgust from Ryouma. A gross chortle and wet snorting leaves Okada in response. _Hah, serves him right._ However, despite that, he moves through the bamboo grove without any issues, even with a huge dead weight on his shoulder. Silent slithering and a soft hissing behind them tells Okada that Oryo is following them, albeit slow and sluggish. She definitely picked a fight with the wrong oni. It doesn’t take long for them to arrive back at Gudako’s house, lying quiet like he left it (he didn’t even put his futon back inside). _Still no trace of her._

Ryouma heaves him up the stairs and into the house, carefully setting him down onto what might be Gudako’s own futon. Hopefully she likes saliva stains on her stuff.

“The numbness is going to wear off in a few minutes. The poison I use isn’t strong, but you should rest up a bit while you’re at it.”, Ryouma tells him, wiping sweat off his forehead with his sleeves. At that moment, Okada caught a faint glimpse of something: a long gash across the oni’s forehead, a wound possibly deep enough to have left a permanent carve on his skull. Whoever caused him that didn’t just try to mark him. As different as they may seem, the two seem to share a common fate: being exiled and chased off by their own people. Or at least that’s what Okada makes of this and the fact that Ryouma called him “one of them”.

Ryouma seems to notice his gaze, quickly brushing hair over his forehead with haste, before directing his attention elsewhere. Okada looks after him, and manages to push himself up on his elbows just enough to see him sit down beside Oryo. She sprawled out across the floor, the tip of her tail tapping on the floor idly. Only now he notices how big she is– and not just lengthwise. Carefully and with some obvious hesitation, Ryouma puts a hand onto her scaled stomach (or what Okada assumes to be her stomach). Hard plates cover her entire underside and even her front up to her chest, but there’s something bulging underneath those thick scales of hers. Ever gently, Ryouma brushes over her abdomen with his palm as he begins to speak to her softly to which she responds with little trills and soft purring.

Yeah, no doubt about it– _she’s expecting._

His head falls back into the futon and his brows furrow as his eyes squeeze shut tightly for a moment. **Fuck.** That little stunt just now could’ve gone so _horribly,_ **_horribly_ ** wrong. Okada is no man to have regrets at all, but right now he can’t help but feel awful. Killing the unborn isn’t his forte nor his favorite past time.

“How are you feeling now?”, Okada can hear Ryouma say. It’s been a long, long time since he heard one oni speak to another with such compassion. It almost warms his heart, but for the most part it causes a coarse, stinging sensation at his midst: jealousy, bitterness. He used to have something like this, but he ruined it all for himself. Okada only has himself to blame for everything.

“Ohhh, Oryo can’t say yet...”, she keens in response and it’s badly faked misery by the sound of it, “I think I need some special attention.” **_Oh, eugh._**

He can’t see Ryouma’s face but he definitely sounds flustered when he gives an undignified giggle in response. To spare himself from any more of this, his head turns to the side along with the rest of him. On accident he utters a rough grunt, disturbing the love-onis. The room is silent for a few moments, and Okada has already closed his eyes to go after Ryouma’s suggestion, but then there’s hot breath fanning across his face, causing him to reel (as much as his body lets him in its current condition).

“Does Mister Intruder want a kiss too?”

It’s Oryo, staring right into his fucking soul like the weird, beady-eyed freak of nature she appears to be. He wants to object, _he_ **_really_ ** _does,_ but he finds himself unable to.

“Ryo, darling, I don’t think he–”

Even Ryouma interjects in a desperate attempt to stop her, possibly knowing what’s about to go down, but it’s too late. The snake beast drags her slimy, disgusting tongue straight across his face and as broad as she possibly can apparently, going from his chin up to his forehead and dragging all his hair with it which leaves him with a giant cowlick. There’s an exclamation of sheer disgust that comes from the very bottom of Okada’s heart breaking from his throat and it’s loud enough to make Oryo slither behind Ryouma for protection in primal fear.

The oni wipes his face with his sleeves downright furiously and the snarls, “What the fuck is ya problem! Eugh!”

“My apologies, she's a bit too affectionate these days.”, Ryouma states as his head bows.

Okada can already feel himself developing distress rash all over his face because considering the relationship she has with Ryouma, he doesn't wanna know where that tongue has been. “Yah, I'll say; keep yer pet on a leash.”, he huffs loudly at the two.

Oryo is very obviously miffed at the fact that she's just been called a pet, but her mate keeps her at his side with a subtle gesture so that she doesn't attempt to swallow the other oni whole again.

“Anyhow– what can I call you?”, Ryouma inquires with a smile soft and charming enough to ease even Okada's foul temper. A goddamn miracle, but he just seems to have that certain air around him; pretty much everyone gets along with Ryouma.

“Okada's fine for now.”, he responds, with a gentle sigh spilling from his mouth when he decides to get comfortable again, his right arm flopping around like dead weight while he twists and turns on the futon. Well, he's had worse; the poison has a nice side-effect: this is the closest thing to being high he's been in the past few months.  


 

The room lies silent anew, with Okada resting up and the other two rather sticking to themselves. That is, until…

Distant wheezing makes the oni's ears flick, but he decides not to sit up. He's still not feeling up to that, to be honest. It doesn't take long for the labored breathing to get louder, until Okada can hear the floorboards creak, mixing with a soft trill which definitely comes from Ryouma (aside from taking that perfect non-lethal shot, everything this guy does is gentle apparently).

“Ah, I had no idea ya would be here today, Ryouma.”, Gudako inquires, albeit still winded, as she puts down a basket with many bundles of different herbs and weeds, likely meant for her expertise. And the local dumbass that can't follow rules nor simple instructions. “Is Oryo feelin’ well?”

“Yes, she's fine… well, for the most part.”, Ryouma replies, playing with Oryo’s hair after she had put her head in his lap. She's asleep, too. “Your newcomer picked the wrong territory to visit, so Ryo and him fought. I was able to separate them before anything worse happened, though.”

Gudako doesn't say anything for a while, and instead utters a loud, drawn out sigh in response. Oh boy. “I see.”, she says, sounding incredibly weary, “Did you check the eggs?”

For his own safety and well-being, Okada decided that it's for the best if he fakes sleeping for the time being; Gudako's probably going to kill him later anyway, and he might as well take his last nap before being obliterated.

“No, I didn't. I'm scared of hurting her every time I do.”

“Yeah, I understand.”, she states, sitting down beside Ryouma, “I'm jus’ glad she's asleep ‘cuz she won't try to bite me like this.” Whatever Gudako does next earns her a huff from Oryo, her tail sliding over the floor in her sleep.

Okada would've never thought he'd live long enough to witness something like this. It's really fucking weird, to be honest.

“So, next week's the big day.”, she says eventually with a little smile, after quietly reassuring Ryouma that the clutch is fine. “Nervous already?

“Ah, _goodness,_ don't remind me.”, Ryouma chuckles in order to hide his nervosity but it's not hard to realize how worried he really is. In the end, even Okada feels a bit bad for him. “I can't sleep right anymore at this point.”

Then, an excruciatingly long moment of silence follows, the air thick enough to cut it with a blade. The mood completely changed in the blink of an eye.

“Do you think one will hatch this time?” He sounds so hopeful, it's downright heartbreaking.

“I can't say, Ryouma.”

He only sniffles in response.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! (kudos + comments appreciated)


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